A Rise to the Challenge
by millie-mione
Summary: An answer to a lingering question that has irked and taunted all fans. Who's the smarter and more adept of our two 'Potions' teachers. Characters belong to Ms. Murphy and Mrs. Rowling.


Constance Hardbroom followed Minerva MacGonagall into the courtyard where all the fifth year students lazed about in between their O.W.L. exams. Professor MacGonagall excused herself and left Constance with the other students to attend to amore urgent matter. She thought to herself just how lax the fifth years were out here and imagined what her mentor Heckitty Broomhead would have said about such slackness and turned her nose up in disdain. Her proud gesture met wet interruption from a boy drenched with water who rushed past her knocking her down and soiling her neat uniform.

' Really! Some people had no sense of dignity or deportment!' she thought to herself fumingly. She raised her hand and pointed it at him. Her gesture lifted him off the ground. She wanted to burst into hysterical laughter looking at the way his scrawny legs scurried in panic.

"Put me down!!! Put me down, or I swear that I'll..."

"Do what, exactly"?

"I'll make you regret you were ever born, that's what!"

"My... you look like you could really could use another dip. It might help you to cool off a bit," she remarked and then turned him into a duck who now waddled quickly about in a hysterical circle quacking loudly. "There! When you're ready to be more civil about our little problem, then I'll entertain your conversation."

Laughter abounded from all over. From the looks of things, this boy wasn't too popular around here.Clearly after seeing his behavior towards her, it was no mystery why.

"Wow! That was some show," a boy with black hair and spectacles said as he ran up to Constance.

"Well, I hate to brag, but he had it coming. I'm Constance Hardbroom,"

"James Potter, and these guys are Sirius Black, Peter Pettigrew, and Remus Lupin."

"How nice to meet you all," she greeted shaking each of their hands at turn.

"I haven't seen you around here. Are you new"?

"Actually I'm just visiting. My old administrator got into a little trouble, and Professor Dumbledore, a great friend of my father's, invited me to finish my studies here so that I wouldn't lose a year and have to repeat, God, just think of doing fifth year again."

"Yeah, we know what you mean," Sirius said.

"I say it's time to turn our rude little friend back, don't you"?

"Nah,... just leave him like that," James said.

"No... I'll change him back. I don't want to be too petty," she said with resignation. Constance did the reversal, and the boy returned to his normative state looking up at his fifth tormentor with a hurt scowl.

"Are you ready to apologize now"? she asked.

"No! I don't owe you anything. Just leave me alone!!!" he shouted before getting up and running away.

Constance and her new friends enjoyed the term, aside from the antics and machinations of that awful boy whose name she learned to be Severus Snape. People really liked her around Hogwarts, especially Professor MacGonagall. She kept the gang out of trouble, and helped Peter Pettigrew improve his lessons, somewhat. Sometimes she often wondered whether only something short of a miracle could give him the breakthrough that he needed to practice and execute magic in a competent fashion.

The day came for the students to return home from break. Constance waved goodbye to her friends as she exited the Hogwarts Express. Her Aunt Penelope stood at the platform

half smiling and sniffling, her face wearing telltale signs of pink around the eyes and nose.

"Heloo, Constance, dear. I take it that your year at Hogwarts was more than instructive"? she asked with a nervous tremble in her voice.

"Yes. I did have a nice year, Aunt Penelope, but that has nothing to do with what you plan to tell me, though, does it"? she pressed trying to sound mature.

"NOW LISTEN, CONSTANCE, THIS IS HARD ENOUGH FOR ME AS IT IS!!!!!!" she yelled displaying a volatile burst of emotion.

Constance fought back the tears of shame and hurt. Why of all people did Aunt Penelope have to be the one to come and get her from school? She always held her in contempt as being an over-emotional, self-centered, erratic, and eccentric old bat. Were she to be more blunt in her description of Penelope, then she'd just say that she was plain 'nuts'.

Her mind raced to the time that her aunt got the news that they were closing her favorite vacation site for the summer. She locked herself in the attic and cried while sitting in her rocking chair for three weeks.

Constance and her father laughed about it when her mother told her what happened.

"It's your PARENTS!!!! They-They're both dead," she said in a rushed whisper.

"Did you say that they're both..."

" DEAD!!!!!!YES!!!!!!!DON'T MAKE ME SAY IT AGAIN!!!!!!!!"

Constance felt the room spin around her, and then she fainted. When she finally came to, she woke up in her aunt's carriage. They were en route to Gloucester. Constance balled her fists in frustration. It was true! She was an orphan! She didn't want to stay with Aunt Penelope! She wouldn't! She'd run away if she had to!

"Constance, dear, I'm really sorry about my behavior at the platform. Please, forgive me. You know that I forget myself sometimes," she said patting Constance's hand reassuringly.

"Indeed," she whispered.

"What? Did you say something ,dear"?

"No, Aunt Penelope. I didn't."

"I am going to make the preparations for the ceremony, and I will let you get some rest when we reach the house, okay"?

"Thank you, Aunt Penelope. That'd be nice."

The funeral passed, and Constance spent the next few weeks recovering from her grief. She hated her Aunt Penelope's house. It was dark with antiquated and the wallpaper bore a disgusting hue that was faded which gave it a sepia / olive pallor. The entire house reminded Constance of a sick room for a dying person. It smelled like medicine, and everyone was so gloomy there.

One day while Constance sat outside, her aunt came running and squealing euphorically as she brandished a letter in her hand.

"Constance, dear. Guess what? I'm getting married," she cried out.

What in the name of all that was sane did she mean, married? Who would marry that deranged old bat? Wait, why should she even ask? This was obviously someone who wanted her for her money. She had thin and twinelike black hair, gigantic teeth like a

jack rabbit, and a nose that would put an eagle to shame about his beak, not to mention a thick unibrow.

"I came to tell you;because, he's coming by for dinner tonight. Now I want you to be very nice to him," she said smiling like some silly teenager.

Evening rolled around, and the doorbell rang. The servants brought the man in. A young man who seemed to be a perfect copy of him stood alongside him. Constance went to wash her hands, and decided to get a better look at them afterwards. She heard her aunt scurry to the foyer and greet the two of them.

"Edmund, welcome. And you, Severus. You look more handsome each time I see you," she said smiling.

What? Severus Snape? This had to be a joke!

"CONSTANCE"?

"Yes, Aunt Penelope"? Constnace answered running down the stairs to make a prompt entrance.

"I'd like you to meet your soon-to-be uncle, Mr. Edmund Snape and his son Severus," she said.

"Hi, it's so wonderful to finally meet you. My aunt speaks very highly of you, and it's nice to see you again, Severus," she said conjuring something to say.

"Hello, Constance," he said snidely.

"Oh, joy! You two know each other. That's good! I'm sure that you two would love to catch up at the dinner table. Why don't you go and wait there until Edmund and I get back," she suggested.

"Yes, Aunt Penelope," Constance said smiling." This way, Severus."

"Thank you, Constance," he answered.

They sat across from each other and avoided making eye contact. She wouldn't make a move if he didn't.

Finally, it was he who broke.

"What do you think of this upcoming marriage? I personally think that my father could do much better, I mean you can't honestly say that your aunt is the catch of the day appearance-wise, now can you"? he asked eyeing her maliciously.

"How dare you come into this house and be so disrespectful"? she asked angrily, and pointed her finger at him to hex him.

"Ouch!!!!!! Constance there was no need for that, really!!!!!!" he yelled loudly enough for the adults to hear him after he grabbed her china cup and threw it on the floor smashing it to pieces. He hurriedly pinched the side of his forehead.

"What's going on here"? her aunt asked concerned.

"Oh, Miss. Stearack,"

"No Severus, mother, ,Please, call me mother."

"I asked Constance a question , she got offended for some reason, and threw her cup at me. I'm sorry it broke . It looks as if it's quite old. Was it a family heirloom"? he asked regretfully casting a sideglance at Constance.

"Yes... it WAS. CONSTANCE HARDBROOM,YOU ARE CONFINED TO YOUR ROOM FOR THE REST OF THE NIGHT. I TOLD YOU TO BEHAVE YOURSLF, AND I MEANT EVERY WORD OF IT. YOU APOLOGIZE, AND ASCEND THE STAIRS IMMEDIATELY AFTER!!!!"

"I did-"she tried to say pointing futilely at her accusor. "I-"'Oh... it was no use. He won this time.' "I'm sorry, Severus."

"I forgive you, Constance. I really meant you no harm," he said innocently.

She nodded like s prisoner on death row headed to face her death at the hands of the powers that be.

She reached her room and shut her door. She cried for an hour. Why did it always hurt her to be wrong? She didn't think that she was infallible. Why did this evening affect her so, she knew that it was a bad match between her aunt and this man. These mental words

stopped her tears. She sat up in her bed and proceeded to write her friends. She wrote volumes until she heard a knock at her door.

"Who is it"? she asked.

The knock came again. This time she got up and went to open the door. It was Severus.

"I hope this proves to be a lesson for you. My enemies never see me coming."

"Where's my aunt"?

"Oh she and father are on the back porch sitting on the swing, holding hands, and talking," he said mockingly describing each activity. "You look as if you want to say something."

Constance shook her head, and he walked off looking back at her with a smile of conquest. She waited until he descended the stairs to cast her spell. He'd wet himself before he reached the bottom. His father didn't look like a man who tolerated any foolishness, so this was probably a good strategy to employ.

After a few seconds, she heard Edmund yelling at the top of his lungs about how embarassing Severus was to the family. She leaned against the wall of her bedroom with a feeling of great satisfaction that she wanted to scream about. He was toast, that little toad! Bull's eye!

Little did either of them know, but this was the start of a volatile battle of wits. Who was to be victorious? That's another story.


End file.
